The Artist - UK (2021-04)

http://www.painters-online.co.uk artistApril 2021 23

PRACTICAL

• I try not to add too many highlights –
  restraint in highlights can help focus the
  viewer’s eye.


• Even the brightest part of a reflection
  might not be pure white – on silver
  it will often be golden tinged, and to
  paint it white may put the painting out
  of kilter.
  
  
  • It’s particularly important to get
    highlights right first time, rather than
    having several attempts, as crispness
    makes it ‘pop’. If it’s not in the right
    place, scrape it off and do it again.
  
  
  • It shouldn’t be ‘perfect’. Stand back
    frequently to see how it all comes
    together. I prefer to have looser strokes
  
  
  
  

so the audience’s eye has to do some

work to make it out.

Finally, I leave most paintings as they

are, although I do like to varnish dark

paintings afterwards as it brings out the

depth of the dark – and thus the shine

of the highlights.

q FINISHED PAINTING

Persimmon with Teapot, oil on canvas board, 153/4 3 193/4in

(40 3 50cm).

For paintings of this size I will often do them over two days,

coming back to check and improve on them the second day.

If nothing else, it can sometimes be good to go over the shiny

patch with one stroke the next day when the painting has

dried to accentuate the highlight, which can have a tendency

to get muddy

u STAGE FOUR
I finished blocking in the colours. Reflections in silver tend to
be a bit darker than the original colours and can be warmer if
the silver could do with being cleaned. Whenever I paint, I try
to forget the subject matter and just paint the colours I see in
front of me, roughly where I see them

TA